tinyowl

Hey there Linz,

I'm the same as you with the drinking big at a young age and blacking out thing- I didn't even realise that blacking out was a big deal up until quite recently. I just thought that everyone forgets stuff if/when they have a 'few' too many.

I don't have the article any more and read it over a year ago so I'm a bit fuzzy but... It was about a study that was conducted on how people's memories are effected by booze. There's no definite cause (of blacking out) that's been found yet, but during this particular study these researchers found a link between how quickly alcohol enters your system and whether you black out or not. In other words, drinking quickly on an empty tummy is more likely to result in you wondering what the heck you did last night.

Decided to read up after having a random screaming fit at my ex boyfriend then woke up as innocently as sleeping beauty... ahem.

I know it's a massive struggle, especially when drinking is something that you're so used to doing (it's like a part of who you are), but really hope that you manage to get sober for you and your child's sake.

Riel

Blackouts are a sign that you have a serious alcohol problem, which could lead to devastating consequences.

Blacking out "almost nightly" is like playing Russian roulette with this difference: playing Russian roulette you only risk your own life.

Stop whatever you're doing and get some help.

gardendiva

The body of a normal drinker responds to excessive alcohol by vomiting or passing out or both.

Black outs are an entirely different animal. Normal drinkers do not black out.

Jimboagust

One of the main biological effects of long-term abuse of alcohol is that it messes up your hippocampus, one of the primary functions of which is to formulate memories and to consolidate information in your short term memory so that it is retained in your long term memory. The more you drink the more you damage this area of your brain, meaning that you need less and less alcohol per drinking session to inhibit its function.

I blacked out almost every night for the last year of my drinking and the deleterious effects on both short term and long term memory were beginning to be noticeable. This is not something to f*ck around with. We basically are our memories, so if you are experiencing frequent blackouts it is definitely time to stop drinking completely.

LDT

After 17 months sobriety I went back out for about 4-5 months . I was shocked at how little it took for me to black out . It would happen on as little as 3 glasses of wine . Scary stuff! I'm now about 20 months sober and have no plans to ever test those waters again . Black outs were explained to me as a type of brain death .

Croissant

Exactly. That was the end for me. My two attempts to drink again in October and Feb proved to me that NOTHING is predictable once I drink alcohol now.

It's actually more stressful thinking about drinking, than going without.

I also found looking up "kindling" helped me to understand also. The excerpt below is taken from the Recoveryfirst.org website.

-----------
The kindling effect is not entirely understood, but many experts in the field of addiction have speculated that it is the result of overly sensitive neurons. Neurons that service addictive behavior are permanent once developed and cause powerful cravings. With each progressive relapse these neurons become more and more hypersensitive. This means that even small triggers can cause an immediate return to aggressive drug use. In an article for ScienceBlog, a team of prominent researchers write;

“”Kindling” occurs when the nervous system develops increased sensitivity to a stimulus such as withdrawal from alcohol. When a nerve cell is repeatedly exposed to a stimulus that is initially too small to cause full nerve excitement, it can become more sensitive, or kindled, to the stimulus and begin to react at lower thresholds. This sensitivity persists over time and can become stronger with continued exposure to the stimulus.” (1)

When addicts do relapse, the kindling effect tends to cause each episode to be worse than the last. Addicts troubled by the kindling effect will return to using more quickly, use more heavily and for longer than each time before. While this may not be true for every person in every case, it does seem to be a pattern that warrants serious attention, because each new time an addict uses could be their last. The risks are simply too high."

Soberwolf

I do not believe there are any normal drinkers I truly believe normal regular drinker's are more often than not alcoholic you might not of heard of them but a lot of normal drinkers get arrested week after week asbo's court orders ask your local police station how many of the people arrested on the weekend were alcoholics and how many were normal drinkers he/she will struggle to tell you

Ambulance services are stretched to the limit through normal drinkers getting out of there box

I don think that is normal

I think if you drink the potentional of alcoholism is always present how could it not be

Gronk

Just to put it into perspective......you are drinking 4-5 (6?) 8.5 % beers a night.......ales.

That means you are drinking a 12 pack of Bud Light every night.

Sounds like me.....if you add 2 or 3 8.5% beers every night.

Does this sound familiar in the morning:

"Where the he#* is my cellphone!"

"OK, now, where are my keys? I know I have them, I let myself into the house!!!!!"

Perhaps it was the every night consumption aspect that was getting us.

MelindaFlowers

I blacked out quite frequently and suffered arguments, uncontrollable weeping, minor injuries, horrifying posts to Facebook, inappropriate text messages, emails, etc.

The shame and embarrassment was so extreme the next day that my heart might just stop beating.

Thank goodness I don't have to worry about those anymore!

SunshineDay

I started getting blackouts when I first started drinking as a teenager. Since I've been older it's been kind of random if I black out or not. If you add it all up, I've lost days of my life that I'll never remember. I've been told the next day about hours and hours that I was up and doing things that were completely blacked out for me. It's scary as hell because usually during a blackout you'll do a lot more risky and dangerous things than you'd usually do. And usually no one else has any idea you're blacked out. I think it's a major trait of an alcoholic. I'm sure not every alcoholic blacks out but if it's happening regularly, I'd say it's a good sign of alcoholism. And mine started with my first drinks unfortunately.

SunshineDay

I completely understand and agree! I remember waking up horrified wondering what did I write on facebook, who did I write to, who did I text, etc. And the shame and depression, oh yeah. Also so glad to never have to worry about that again!

gaffo

Honestly, blackouts took away the fun of drinking for me. It always made me jealous of people that didn't black out. What's the fun of partying if you can't remember any of it?

MelindaFlowers

What scares me about blackouts is this:

If you have completely lost control of all judgement, who's to say you wouldn't......

Grab your keys and drive somewhere
Leave the stove/oven on and burn down the house (while you are passed out)
Fall and hit your head, get concussion or worse and die?
Let your pet outside and lose them?
Leave water running? Flood the house?
Email a boss in anger, but would never do that sober? Lose job?
Damage expensive electronics


I know that many of use have done some of the above stuff. Blackouts scare me and I'm not willing to ever have another. No way!

jdooner

Its called reverse tolerance and often occurs in late stage alcoholism. Your liver cannot process the enzymes to break down the alcohol properly and inebriation can occur after one drink. This is serious and should not be ignored. It can often be a precursor to liver disease and you should get checked my a medical professional.

Blacking out - remember that commercial with the eggs frying and this being your brain on drugs? Its not too far off from what is occurring. You are destroying the neurotransmitters in your brain and reducing the dopamine pathways, which is core to addiction. This is a laymen's version of some of what is occurring.

MelindaFlowers

My tolerance went down in the end. It was very strange. I would feel somewhat drunk after like four drinks. Then I would keep drinking and feel more sober after maybe 7 or 8. Then it was unpredictable whether I would feel drunk or kinda sober after 12. I felt sober but was still clumsy as a drunk person: couldn't type or spell words and would look at the computer with one eye closed.

I knew it was my time to stop!

Andante

I did f*ck around with it. I continued to drink to blackout well past the point where it was obviously causing long-term issues with memory and cognition.

Now, at nearly a year and a half sober, I remain in many ways a shadow of my former self. I experienced some improvement in the first few months of sobriety, but things have plateaued and even declined in some ways, and I'm forced to admit there is some functionality I'll never get back.

Take heed!

fotographia

This is an old topic but if you are blacking out I hope you stopped drinking, or got help to stop.

I have only blacked out once or maybe twice in that I had a friend tell me how I met him while blacked out at a dance club and I do not remember that at all. But sometimes when I would get drunk I would have memories of it. Weird, eh?

F50Lurker

My understanding is that blacking out is caused when too much alcohol hits the liver too fast. So if a person were drinking three drinks over the course of an evening, they wouldn't black out, but if they drank three straight in a row, they probably would. That's all I know. I seem to do fine with wine or beer, but if I start drinking bourbon, I'm more likely to black out.

Stayingsober72

Hi Linz!

I am a blackout drunk also. I found this from Wikipedia:

Blackouts are commonly associated with the consumption of large amounts of alcohol; however, surveys of drinkers experiencing blackouts have indicated that they are not directly related to the amount of alcohol consumed. Respondents reported they frequently recalled having "drank as much or more without memory loss," compared to instances of blacking out.[7] Subsequent research has indicated that blackouts are most likely caused by a rapid increase in a person's blood-alcohol concentration. One study, in particular, resulted in subjects being stratified easily into two groups, those who consumed alcohol very quickly, and blacked out, and those who did not black out by drinking alcohol slowly, despite being extremely intoxicated by the end of the study.[10]

I do believe it has to do with consuming a lot of alcohol really fast, causing the bac to be too high for the brain to handle. I am ashamed to say I blacked out a *lot*. God knows what could have happened to me during those times or what I could have done. No more.

ESD907

IMO the worst blackouts were the ones where everyone else thought you were 'normal'. You made decisions..You drove. You spoke to people. and YOU had no idea. Thats really really scary. ANYWAY. Linz. I think we are allergic to booze. WE handle it differently than others. I like to call it an allergy. It makes it easier to stay away from in my head. WHere I live, lots of people eat alligator, I can't stand it. I mean no no no. My parents made it like 3x a week growing up...those were my PBJ nights. and people here still eat it. I say, OH no thanks, I'm allergic to alligator. Most be look at me like I'm really stupid, who the hell is allergic to gator? But then I also tell them I'm allergic to peanuts...and they just think 'she's one of those'. so by the time I turn down the offer of a beer, they've already decided i'm a bit off. LINZ..I think I went off there on some tangent. I guess my point and least I think my point...was you are drinking a lot. And you are little bitty thing too. But blackouts are considered the black/white sign of alcoholism. there is no gray.